Hammers are the player's connection to the dulcimer and hence the music. Their role in performance is paramount. They are made with a functional design, hickory shaft, decorative woods on the handle, smooth shape to feel comfortable, well balanced, and they have wood, felt and/or leather on the tips. The standard length for hammers is 6.5 inches from the middle of the handle to the middle of the striking spot, though custom orders are filled at no extra cost since I make all my hammers individually. Innovative hammers can add a new sound and lift to your performances. Give your audience something to talk about – “What was that!?”

These hammers are examples only. When ordering, please specify rounded or flat handle; wood, felt and/or leather on the playing tip; and if you would like a pick set into the handle end ($6). Shipping is included for hammers.

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Double-Edge with rounded handle, $44. Two-sided for versatility. The rounded handle can be flipped mid-tune with ease. The pick is directed toward the strings by raising the hammer head straight up. The plucking sound adds a different tone to your repertoire.

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Double-Edge with flat handle, $44. Two-sided for versatility. The flat handle is easy to hold and control.

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Players Choice, $35. These single-sided hammers are well balanced and beautifully designed and have the ability to fly.

Clackers, $60. Clackers add an extra percussive sound with each strike. Wood tips are recommended. Listen to a sample.

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Bowers, $70. Bowers are used to bow individual strings. The bows are horsehair and are replaceable. Felt is recommended for the other side of the hammer. A small amount to rosen and picks in the handle are included. Listen to a sample.

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Variable Headers, $70. Variable-Headers give three different tones depending on the rotation angle of the hammer (wood, leather, felt). Listen to a sample.

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“Experience is in the fingers and the head. The heart is inexperienced.»— Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Helpful Hints

Slippery Hammer Handles?

Rub a little bees wax on the handle of your hammers to give a non-slip surface that is not sticky.

Gluing Leather or Felt?

Use “Barge Cement” to glue felt or leather to the hammers. You can usually find it at shoe repair shops.

Cracked Hammers?

Use superglue to fix broken or cracked hammers. Sometimes this does not work the first time because the glue soaks into the wood leaving a glue-starved joint. Just glue it again, and this time the glue will not soak-in.

Dampers

Dampening the strings on your dulcimer is a wonderful embellishment. It basically doubles the different sounds that you can get out of your dulcimer with your current abilities because you can play with the dampers on or off. Felt covered damper bars operated with a foot pedal are useful because they are very convenient to use, and they offer special effects and muting not heard on the piano. On a dulcimer equipped with dampers it is possible to strike notes with the strings muted, whereas on the piano the dampers always lift off the strings as they are struck. Muting while playing is a very effective way to accentuate the percussiveness of the dulcimer by eliminating sustain. Whamdiddle Dampers are ultra-light and have very little friction so their responsiveness allows for the quick dampening of sustain in fast passages or for the harmonic effects discussed below.

There are still many players who use their hands alone for dampening. There are also effects that cannot be accomplished with damper bars. One of these effects is to touch a string with your finger where it crosses the bridge while hitting the string and quickly removing your finger from the string. This gives a bell like sound much like the harmonic sound a guitar player gets by touching the string at a vibrational node while plucking. A similar effect can be achieved by dampening with a foot pedal at the same time a string is struck and then quickly releasing the dampers. Hand dampening many strings at the same time can be accomplished by using the heels of the hands (with the little fingers extended) placed on the strings in the area where you have just been playing.

One of my students made two long thin “socks” that were filled with small lead shot. These were placed on the dulcimer near the two side bridges to provide dampening. It worked well and they could be removed quickly when no longer wanted. Another method is to place tape that does not leave a residue on the strings near the side bridges or even on the main bridges. This provides dampening and can also be removed quickly.

After many years of experimenting with different stands, I now build what I consider to be the perfect dulcimer stand. This simple and clean design is elegant, lightweight, extremely compact and portable, and practically indestructible when folded. The stand forms a stable tripod when opened which receives any size dulcimer. The stand is capable of angle and height adjustments.